


Memories Over Ale

by Xygdrasil



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, Memories, a couple of bad puns, dealing with FEELINGS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24134602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xygdrasil/pseuds/Xygdrasil
Summary: After Jeralt's death, Byleth has trouble dealing with these newfound feelings of sorrow. Alois knows exactly what to bring as they talk about their dear departed father.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19
Collections: Jeralt Week 2020!





	Memories Over Ale

**Author's Note:**

> Jeralt Week Day 2: Ale

The nights at the monastery were getting colder, the gentle breeze carrying sharp chills to those it reached outside the safety of closed doors. Despite the creeping cold, it did nothing to deter the professor as she left the captain's quarters, clutching a book close to her chest. Murmurs of condolences fell upon deaf ears, the only thing in mind being the pathway to the cemetery where her parents lay, finally together once more. A bouquet of pink carnations and white chrysanthemums were neatly wrapped and placed on their grave, courtesy of Bernadetta earlier that day. Byleth rubbed her eyes, still red and swollen from the newfound act of crying. Weep if you must, Sothis had gently encouraged as she lent the mourning professor her shoulder, and her body acted upon it as though it had known how to since times immemorial.

"Alone out here in the cold? You might become ice-olated!" Byleth turned her head to look at Alois, the usually cheerful, boisterous knight holding two mugs of ale in his hand. His smile and horrible jokes remained, but no more than a small curl of the corners of his lips as his gleaming eyes told another story. "No reaction? How cold..." He tried desperately to lighten the mood, but he, too, had lost someone akin to a father and could not keep the act much longer. "I... knew you'd be out here when I couldn't find you in the captain's quarters, Professor." He said after a moment of silence, moving closer to her and the tombstone. "Care to have a drink with me? It'll warm you right up!" His hand trembled as he passed the ale, grateful that Byleth had silently accepted the offer by retrieving the mug from him. As they sat down by the tombstone, Alois extended his wooden mug over to Byleth, who instinctively tapped his mug with her own, as she did so many times before with Jeralt and her fellow mercenaries. "...To Captain Jeralt." His voice was quiet as they withdrew their wooden mugs and took a swig of the ale. It did nothing to warm the cold that gripped the core of her being.

"You know-" Alois began, a fond look in his eyes as he looked at the tombstone. "One of the first things Jeralt taught me when he first took me in as a squire was how to fish." As she listened quietly, Byleth stared into the mug, barely making out her reflection in the dark liquid. "On a quiet morning in the monastery, he'd bring over some ale and we'd fish all morning! By the time he finished the last of them, he had a bucket brimming with fish while I could only manage to catch one." As he reminisced, a wry smile appeared on his face. "Although I could never truly get the hang of it, casting a line by his side gave me a joy greater than anything."

"I know what you mean." Byleth said quietly, still staring into her mug as Alois turned his gaze towards her. "We would fish when we had to procure food for the mercenaries on days we couldn't grab an inn between jobs. Well, we fished even if we could, so long as there was water to cast a line in." She paused to drink a little, before continuing. "He'd drink then, too. I remember the first time I had a drink with him was while fishing as well."

"Jeralt did love his ale. I guess the two of us can't say we didn't pick that up from him, eh?" Alois winked at Byleth as she looked over at him, nodding. "As much as he loved his ale, though... I do remember when he started courting Sitri, he drank less. The time he usually spent in the taverns with the rest of the Knights of Seiros, he'd spend with her instead. When she got pregnant, he stopped altogether. I guess that meant he loved her more than his immense love for ale, eh? Not that I don't understand, having a wonderful wife myself." Alois said with a grin, but it quickly disappeared as he took another swig. "It got bad after... after Sitri died. It felt like everything had gone in a downward spiral for Jeralt since. He practically lived in the tavern and only left to go on missions. And then the fire..." Alois trailed off, staring off into the distance as though the scene of the incident replayed right before his eyes. "It wasn't long after that he left the monastery." His face contorted in pain and sorrow, his tone becoming more strained as he continued to speak. "Jeralt really didn't change at all since he left the monastery. When I first saw you two at Remire, I couldn't believe my eyes. Seeing him again after all those years... At that moment, I thought nothing could kill him, and yet..." He choked back a sob, gritting his teeth as he placed a hand over his face in a poor attempt to hide his tears from Byleth. 

"You should get some rest, Alois." The professor said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. The knight moved his hands away, revealing the tears in his eyes, as he began to protest. Byleth stopped him by raising her mug and chugging the rest of the ale. "Thank you for the drink, it certainly helped with the cold." She lied flatly, trying her best to ignore the unfamiliar, painful tightening sensation in her chest.

Alois paused for a moment before a grin returned to his face. "No need to thank me for that! I'm your big brother after all!" He boasted proudly, wiping his tears and taking the mug from her. As he got up to leave, he stopped in his tracks for a moment, before turning back to Byleth and tossing something over to her.

"We... retrieved this on that day. I thought it'd be best that you have it." Alois said quietly as Byleth managed to catch it with a hand. Before she could even look at it, Alois turned to leave with the empty mugs. "Good night, Byleth! Rely on your big brother more often!" He shouted, waving the empty mugs around before leaving the cemetery. The professor looked down at the object in her hand, feeling another tug in her chest. Byleth uncorked the wooden flask, already smelling the dark liquid contents. She immediately began to drink again, unable to stem the tears that forced their way out again.

"Cheers, Dad."


End file.
